SKY SOHO

Engineering a Transparent, Minimalist Façade

Located in the Linkong Economic Park adjacent to Hongqiao Transportation Hub and in close proximity to Shanghai City Center, SKY SOHO is a mixed-use complex comprising four 40-m tall buildings. The project’s signature feature is the building envelope that ties the undulating, elongated architectural features together with a sinuous retail podium, walkways and bridges.

We provided façade engineering services to Zaha Hadid Architects, including the rationalization of the external surface geometry of the building ends to minimize the use of aluminum panels with double curvatures.

Highlights

• The building envelope consists of a fully unitized curtain wall system, which is a cost-effective and efficient solution to the large quantity of repeating façade elements.
• The envelope design was driven by high-performance thermal and acoustics criteria as well as the architect’s aesthetic requirements for a minimal and transparent façade.
• This building envelope approach also facilitated quality control since units were assembled off-site under factory-controlled conditions, allowing for reduced work, simpler installation and greater on-site safety.
• Sustainability features of the façade system include double-glazed units with spectrally selective coatings, thermal breakers and high-performing insulation materials.
• To optimize user comfort, external louvers at all levels are designed to minimize solar gain, mitigate glare and provide sun shading.